Outside of the Box
by SokuDragon
Summary: Broken objects that seem to fix themselves, assault without evidence, and murder. How do you solve a case without clues?


**Here's a fun little idea I thought up recently. I'm not sure how long it'll be, but it'll be fairly short for a chaptered story. Granted it won't have many chapters, but the chapters will be a bit long. Bear with me, I'm gonna be trying to juggle **_**Restaurantia **_**and this one at the same time.**

**Main thing is Kiku x World, by the way. It's not all romantic, some of them are just platonic. The pairings will come up as I go since I don't wanna list them.**

_Limited Third Arthur's POV_

Arthur had no idea where in the heck he was. Or rather, he did, but it just didn't feel right. He rubbed his head and groaned in pain. As far as he could remember, he was assaulted, and after they had successfully bashed his head with a blunt object, he was knocked out cold. Now, here he was. He looked around, his vision still a bit blurry from the blow to the head.

He was in his own home, no doubt about it. But…something wasn't right. Everything in his home was exactly as he had remembered it, as if nothing had ever taken place in it. Nothing was broken, leaving no evidence of any struggles or any possible burglars to have attempted to break in. It raised suspicion in his mind immediately. However, although he thought of the possibility that he was dreaming, his pain definitely felt real. And he was seemingly not waking up no matter how hard he pinched himself.

He steadied himself against a nearby desk, as he was in his office, and decided to explore, in case there were any broken windows anywhere else in his house. He walked his lonely halls and saw nothing out of the ordinary. His antiques were dusty, as always, and the paintings on his walls were still as brilliantly artistic as he had remembered. There was nothing wrong with this picture. Except for the lack of evidence that he had been attacked. He clearly remembered struggling against the intruder, whoever it was, and breaking a vase. It was his favorite, too, which had really ticked him off. As he passed the area he remembered struggling in, he noticed that his favorite vase was, indeed, gone. But there were no pieces left where it should've been.

He tried to remember more of what happened. There was the struggle, and a thought occurred that with a broken vase piece, and in his anger, he had blindly thrown his arm back (which had dislocated his shoulder accidentally) and injured the culprit with the vase piece. Arthur was sure the dislocation of his shoulder was no dream, as it still hurt tremendously. However, there were no bloodstains on the floor. His house was spotless.

It honestly creeped him out.

He tried to recall anything else, if he had had a visitor that day. If he could remember clearly, he did have a few visitors. That day, he had oddly had quite a number of people visit him. His first visitor was Alfred. Although, Arthur had refused to let him in, so Alfred left. The British man wondered if the American had gotten mad at getting rejected once more and decided to knock him out as revenge. He would need to take note of that.

His second visitor was that bloody frog, Francis. He, too, had been left outside, but Arthur knew him enough to know that even if he had surprised him, the Frenchman would still be easily defeated. That left him out. Following Francis was Kiku. The Japanese man had come by to inquire about something to him, he remembered, and was the only one of the visitors mentioned so far that he had allowed inside. They had spoken some business, and then settled down to have some tea. Other than that, Arthur could not remember. He was sure the other had left, though, long before his attack. That left him out as well. Besides, what reason would sweet little Kiku have to attack him? It seemed rather out of character.

Soon after, Sadiq had come by to ask about Kiku's whereabouts, and left only seconds following. He was pretty sure the Turkish man didn't need anything from him. Ludwig was the final visitor before the attack. Arthur, however, couldn't remember if he had let the German in, or just spoke to him at the doorway. That would need to be investigated. So, the two people he needed to check with were Alfred and Ludwig. He would get to that after he had gotten some tea. His head really hurt.

_Limited Third Alfred's POV_

"Where am I?" Alfred sat up from the floor as he twisted his head around to look where he was. It looked like his house. What had happened? He rubbed his head as he felt an incoming headache, something he wasn't fond of, nor did he get very often. He had been knocked out, it seemed. The last thing he remembered was drinking some of his milkshakes and eating hamburgers. Someone must've put something in his food! Those bastards! Nobody messes with a hero!

"If they drugged me, then why'd they leave me in my house? Unless…they took something?" Suddenly, something hit him.

"TONY!" Alfred made a mad dash around his house, checking all of the doors in his house and all of the compartments to look for his alien friend. Tony was nowhere in sight. Alfred fell to his knees as he finished his search.

"Those BASTARDS. They took Tony! That's it, they're gonna face the wrath of the HERO." Alfred jumped out one of his house's windows that was closest to him, causing it to shatter gracefully as he flew out of it. He landed on the floor unscathed before realizing what he just did. He turned to see how badly damaged his window was and noticed that it wasn't even broken. A bit surprised and shocked, he looked around him, noticing all of the tiny glass shards around him that _supposedly_ had come from that window.

"What the hell…? Aw, who cares. At least I won't need to pay for it. Now…where to? Maybe Iggy knows where Tony is! He's always seeing those…_things_. Not very heroic, but it'll have to do." With that, Alfred sped towards the Brit's house in hopes of a promising tale about the whereabouts of Tony.

_Normal POV_

Alfred burst into the Brit's house through the door, which had fallen at his feet with him stepping over it. He noticed that the British man had been reaching for the doorknob just then.

"What the bloody hell! What in god's name are you doing, knocking down my doors?" Arthur scolded the American man, not noticing what had just happened. Alfred, who had done it partially to test his theory, and partially because heroes needed grand entrances, pointed the Brit towards the area behind him. Arthur promptly looked behind Alfred and noticed something that frightened him.

His door was perfectly okay. It wasn't unhinged or anything, just normal. As if Alfred hadn't just busted through it. He rubbed his eyes, to see if he was dreaming, but indeed, he wasn't. Under Alfred's feet was the door he had knocked over, but behind Alfred was the exact same door, but not damaged in the slightest.

"What the bloody hell just happened?"

"Yeah, I know, right? My window was the same thing! I jumped through it, and you know, it broke and stuff, but when I looked back, it was all fixed! But there were broken glass pieces at my feet, so I don't know. But that's not why I'm here!" Arthur looked at Alfred oddly.

"You jumped through your window? Are you an idiot? And I was going to go looking for you too. Are you the wanker who bloody knocked me out cold?" Alfred just stared at Arthur as if he had grown another head.

"Knocked you out? Of course not! That's just not heroic! I was gonna ask ya if you'd seen Tony anywhere. Cause ya know, he's missing. Nowhere around my house, and that's just not right." It was Arthur's turn to stare at the American.

"I don't know where your bloody alien is. Now leave me alone, I need to find Ludwig. If you didn't knock me out, it might be him." As Arthur turned to leave, Alfred stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"You say you got knocked out, right? Me too! I was drugged or something and woke up in my house. They didn't take anything except for Tony, so I gotta find out who did it. Maybe it's the same for both of us! Let's go together! And besides, you need someone as heroic as myself to protect you!" Alfred shot the British man a winning smile as the Brit just leered at the American.

"I don't need your bloody protection! But if you say you were knocked out too, then I guess it isn't too much trouble for you to come along. Just don't get in my way." Alfred grinned.

"I should be saying that to you!" Arthur just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's go." The two made their way towards the German's house, Alfred not shutting up the whole way. Arthur was about to slap the blonde man in the face and destroy Texas, but before he could, they reached Ludwig's home. Before Arthur could think of a plan to get at getting his answer, Alfred knocked loudly on the front door. There was silence for about a second before Alfred began knocking again. After about the fourth round of knocks, the door opened mid-knock, causing Alfred to nearly punch the German man in the face.

"What do you two want?" Ludwig was definitely not looking his best. He looked quite mad, actually. His face was slightly paler than usual, his hair was not as prim and proper as usual, and he looked like he was going to just punch Alfred in the face without explanation.

"Alfred, shut up for about five minutes and let me do the talking." Alfred just pouted as he huffed and folded his arms across his chest. Heroes were supposed to be the ones talking, not their less-than-awesome sidekicks.

"So? What do you need?"

"Well, we aren't here for anything particular. Mind if we come in?" The German man contemplated it for a minute or so. Allowing these two in his house meant disaster, no doubt. But he had something to discuss with them, so he sidestepped to allow them in.

"Your house looks…nice," Arthur finished lamely as he looked about the building. It was clean, just as he would have expected. The German was not amused in the slightest.

"Are you here for anything more important than commenting on my living space?" Arthur just coughed into his fist before starting to speak.

"I came here to discuss with you about a…rather strange discovery." Ludwig seemed to perk up at this, looking more interested. "You see, I woke up only moments ago after being knocked out inside my house. I am not sure of who my assailant is, but it is rather strange that even after I struggled against them, there is no trace of evidence within my house. Alfred, being the twit he is, knocked my door down, but right in front of my eyes, it just reappeared in its proper place, as if nothing had happened."

"And you are perhaps implying that I am the assailant?" Arthur flinched a bit. The German caught on quite fast. Ludwig, however, just sighed.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way I could be your attacker. I, too, was knocked unconscious. Just as you were, I was attacked in my home, and after what seemed a long struggle, I awoke to a perfectly normal house. I, as well, noticed the reappearing damaged objects. As I staggered out of the room I was attacked in, I knocked over an antique on a pedestal, and it reappeared just as I broke it." Arthur was surprised at first, but then stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I see. So, it seems all three of us are in the same boat. We were all attacked, knocked out, and have strange things occurring in our homes." '_Not to mention the fact that I haven't seen a single one of my friends since I awoke_…' Arthur thought. Then they both noticed Alfred being quiet.

"Alfred, you haven't spoken every other second. Is there something wrong?" Alfred turned to face Arthur, a very in-thought face adorning his expression. It surprised Arthur quite a bit.

"It's nothing, I was just wondering…about something. It seems weird, doesn't it? How broken objects fix themselves, how we all got knocked out, and the possibility that it's the same person that's attacking us?" Arthur had to agree with Alfred there.

"But who would attack countries? Not many know our identities, so it couldn't be just anyone," Ludwig contributed. Arthur, too, had that idea. But what was happening?

"Not only that, why would they just knock us out? They didn't try to kill us or anything, just knock us unconscious. Nothing in my house was robbed, except for the remains of a broken vase and the bloodstains in my carpet."

"My house is in place as well."

"Yeah, well they took Tony from me!"

"What would they do with your little alien? Bloody twat."

"They're gonna attack us with an army of Tony's! Ahhh!" Alfred dashed out of the room in a frenzy, until he stopped himself to reassure that he was the hero and he'd save the day. Then followed with striking a pose. Ludwig and Arthur just facepalmed as they continued to think.

"Were either of you two, by any chance, visited by other countries?" Arthur asked. Both shook their heads.

"Were you?" Ludwig asked, the case interesting him more and more. Arthur just nodded.

"Who visited you? Other than us."

"Well…that bloody frog visited me, Kiku visited me, that guy who hates Greece…and that's it."

"That's an interesting lot…and since when were you on a first-name basis with Japan?" Ludwig asked, clearly interested, which wasn't often of him for matters like these. Arthur just blushed as he turned away.

"Well, we're allies again, so I should be allowed to…"

"Of all people, I thought you'd know about the "First Name Rule" in Japan, England," Ludwig said smugly. Arthur just glared at him. Alfred poked Arthur in the back and laughed.

"Ha ha, Iggy's got a crush on Kiku! Don't worry, Iggy, your secret's safe with me! The hero always keeps secrets!" Alfred joked as Arthur just glared at him as well.

"You don't tell Alfred off for using his first name!"

"It's America."

"…Good point," The Brit sighed. Then, he turned on Alfred. "But I'm obviously not the one who keeps going over to his house and asking to play games or to invite him over all the time, am I?" This time, it was Arthur's turn to grin smugly as Alfred just looked away.

"I'm the hero! I'm allowed to visit my friends and ask to play games with them!"

"_All the time_?"

"Who else am I gonna play the games with? You? Ha ha, that's funny!"

"You git!" With that, the two got into a fistfight as Ludwig just watched, rubbing his temple to prevent an incoming migraine. Although he really couldn't blame them. Japan was, indeed, very likeable (not that he himself was attracted to the Japanese man in _that_ way). He was polite, helpful, and incredibly hospitable no matter what. He had a very high tolerance for others and would normally be very soft-spoken, a trait that some would say added to his "cute" factor. Ludwig, honestly, had to admit that Japan was very much like a girl with the way he carried himself. Not only that, though, but the small man was incredibly skilled with his hands. Ludwig, however, was knocked out of his reverie when the two English speakers had stopped physically fighting and were heading for the door.

"Leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna prove to Iggy that Kiku likes me sooo much more than him!"

"As if he would, you blathering twit!" Ludwig couldn't help but be amused and followed them out the door.

A few moments later, the three found themselves in front of the Japanese style home. It was incredibly quiet, much like it always was. Alfred and Arthur were still bickering, albeit quietly, as Ludwig walked up to the house and slid the door open. There was nothing on the other side, just empty space.

"Japan?" Ludwig called into the house. He knew it wasn't often that he visited the Japanese man, so he was a bit hesitant to take any of the other doors in case they led somewhere he wasn't supposed to be in. He received no answer, which irked him slightly. The other two had stopped bickering some time during Ludwig's scanning of the room and were looking around as well.

"Huh? Is Kiku not there?" Arthur asked, looking into the building himself. Indeed, it was empty. There were almost no signs of life inside, as it was still as a painting. Alfred had already run inside and slid open random doors. They noticed nothing until out of one door, Alfred noticed Kiku's dog, Pochi, scurry out. It whined as it stood in front of the three bewildered guests.

"Pochi? What's he doing here without Kiku?" Arthur asked. This alerted him slightly. Something was wrong. The little dog continued to whine as it looked at the three who were searching restlessly. After a few more moments of searching, they got tired and gave up, falling onto the mats on the floor. Pochi took this moment to scurry over and tug at Arthur's shirt with its mouth.

"Huh?"

"He looks like he wants us to follow him somewhere!" Alfred suggested as he hopped up with newfound energy. Ludwig and Arthur looked at each other before nodding. They all jumped up and ran after the retreating dog into a series of rooms. Each one looked like a painting, still and lifeless. Finally, they noticed the dog stop at a particular room. It was Kiku's office. Nothing was seemingly out of the ordinary in the room, except for the Japanese man whose head was placed on his desk so they couldn't see his face. His head was being cradled in his arms, as if he had fallen asleep working. The three were about to release a sigh of relief, until they noticed something really wrong. Quick as lightning, Ludwig dashed over to the Japanese man's side, the other two following suit, and placed his hand to check the pulse on the man's neck.

One second. Two seconds. Ludwig felt no signs of life in the man. His growing worry and fear took control of him as he began to frantically shake the small man, hoping that he'd wake up. Arthur and Alfred inferred what happened and the three of them braced themselves before lifting up the man's head. What they saw nearly made them drop it in surprise. Kiku was at his office desk, a bleeding bludgeon spot on the top of his forehead. The blood dripping from it was fresh, as if he were just killed.

The three stood there, motionless. Kiku was dead. _Japan_ was dead. But how could that be? A whole nation couldn't just…_die_. There would've been something on the news to say so. There would've been a fight, a battle. Something to say that the Japanese man was having a strained relationship with another nation or power. But there was nothing. Here he lay, dead and lifeless, with no idea of who the possible murderer could've been.

"This…Who the hell did this to you?" Alfred wailed as he hugged the Japanese man's body. The other two, both looking incredibly forlorn, just looked on as the American's eyes started to sprout angry tears. After what seemed like eternity, the American stood up, the air around him becoming serious.

"Whoever the hell did this, they're going to fucking pay. I swear to you, Kiku, I'll avenge your death and make whoever did this fucking. Pay. With their life." Arthur could see why the American was so angry, so made no mention to stop him. He, too, was angry beyond belief.

"I…I think we should call up his family," Arthur weakly suggested. Ludwig nodded as he found the phone and dialed the numbers for the other Asian countries. Alfred was still standing beside Kiku, anger running through his veins. Arthur, too, was looking at his ally, his first friend. They were just starting to become acquainted with one another again…and this happens? Arthur fought the tears in his eyes. Ludwig nodded to both of them as a sign that he had called all of the appropriate people.

In only a matter of minutes, the entirety of Asia was standing in the office. Taiwan was crying as Hong Kong held her to comfort her. His face was distorted only slightly in anger and sadness, but otherwise he looked just as monotonous as normal. Yao was at Kiku's side and had a look of anger in his eyes as well. Im Yong Soo was trying to calm down the angered elder nation as the three other countries explained the situation to the Asians.

As it turned out, they had all suffered the same fate. They too, were knocked unconscious and all of the events following mimicked much of what Arthur and Alfred did.

"I see…so we're all being attacked by some…_assailant_ that doesn't seem to want us dead."

"But why'd they kill Kiku?" Alfred shouted angrily. Arthur just calmed him down, but his thoughts were virtually the same. The Asians just looked at them sadly and motioned towards the fact that they didn't know.

"Waah! Nii-san is...nii-san is…!" Taiwan sobbed as Yao tried to soothe her. He looked up adamantly at the American and two European nations.

"Perhaps you have any clues to this? If possible, I would like to find out who did this, aru." The three just shook their heads.

"We just know that it isn't any of us. All three of us were together during the time I suspect Kiku must've been attacked. By the ti—" But Arthur wasn't allowed to finish his statement as the Asians looked at him oddly.

"Since when were you on a first-name basis with my brother, aru?" Arthur just flushed. They always inquired about it to _him_ but they _never_ picked on the American. Curses to Alfred and his flamboyance.

"Th-that's not of any importance right now. Now, as I was saying…by the time we got to his house, he was already…," Arthur gulped, "…dead." The word seemed to bring everyone's spirits down. They had no leads, no evidence. There was nothing to go on. Everyone hung their head, some still trying to settle down their crying. Arthur looked to the side, biting his lower lip to prevent the helpless tears from flowing. Suddenly, they all turned to Pochi barking at them from the doorway.

"Kiku's dog! Maybe he knows something!" Arthur exclaimed, becoming more hopeful. Pochi barked in agreement as he dashed off to somewhere in the house. The entire group followed the dog as it sped through the house in seemingly random directions. Arthur, who was in the lead, was determined and while not paying attention, slammed into something rather hard. He fell backwards, toppling all of the people behind him. The thing he had bumped into made a loud "oof!" before falling as well.

"Ouch…what the bloody hell was that?" Arthur shouted before looking up. It was none other than Greece. Cats were scattered around on the floor as the Grecian rubbed his chest, as that was where Arthur had collided with, and looked lazily at the thing he had bumped into.

"Greece…? What're you doing here, aru?" Yao asked as the Grecian just looked in random directions before turning back to them.

"Visiting…Kiku," He said in that slow manner of his. Yao almost wanted to cry out. What was with all of these foreigners and their first-name basis with his little brother?

"…Wait a moment. Did you get here just now?" Arthur asked, wondering if it was possible this man killed his dear friend. Normally, that wouldn't have been possible and wouldn't have even crossed the Brit's mind, but he was desperate. All Heracles did was nod slowly. Just as Arthur was about to tell the Grecian about the situation, Sadiq trampled into the room and noticed the pile of people.

"Ki—Hey! What're you lot doing here?" Turkey noticed Greece and glared at him. The larger group just looked towards each other before Arthur turned to the new arrivals and regaled to them the story.

"…So you see, Kiku is, uh…dead." The Grecian and the Turkish man blocked out the final word with a flinching motion as they stood there, their hate for each other forgotten. Suddenly, they both straightened up, something flaring in their eyes.

"Who did it?" They both said simultaneously, though neither of them decided to make note of it.

"We don't know yet. We were chasing Japan's dog because it might have led us to somewhere, but it seems we lost him," Ludwig noted. The entire group sighed before Alfred slammed his fist onto the floor, causing the ground to shake for a moment.

"God damn it! Why am I so helpless? Why can't I even…find the one who killed Kiku…? AGH!" Alfred shouted outloud to nobody in particular as the rest just looked at him solemnly. Arthur put his hand on the American's shoulder before sighing.

"I…I know how you feel, Alfred. I mean, he wasn't just your friend. And after we had just become friends again…! Tch!" Arthur grunted as he fought back a new wave of tears. Ludwig just stood there, not saying a word, and feeling happy that Italy hadn't been there. He would've cried a river. Yao was hitting the ground as well, but continuously to relieve his frustration. Heracles and Sadiq simply looked sadly in a direction away from the others.

"I…I think we should stop investigating for today. As much as I hate to leave this case open-ended, we have a world meeting tomorrow and…it won't do us good to miss it. We'll figure something out, I swear my life on it," Arthur said in a low voice, but everyone heard him. They simply sat in silence.

"Yeah, well you guys can leave. I'm gonna stay right here and protect Kiku if that bastard comes back again to do anything else to this place," America stated firmly.

"Protect my little brother, aru? What is there to protect…? Huh, aru? What is there?" Yao shouted out in frustration as he let tears flow freely from his eyes. The other Asian cousins held him back before he got into a fight with the American, who looked just as angry at the Chinese man, but knew he spoke a truth of some sort.

"I hate to admit it, but…I would like to stay here as well. Kiku may already be…_gone_, but it doesn't mean that sick bastard won't come back for who knows what else. If the rest of you would like, you may stay here as well. We have a better chance in numbers." The rest of them had to agree with that. One had already been taken down, and although they had only been knocked out, they weren't sure if the person would get anybody else next.

"Then it's settled. We will camp here and take turns guarding the rest while they sleep. I will take the first shift. England will be second, followed by America, then China. If there is any time left, we will call upon others. Get to your positions," Ludwig commanded. They all nodded before dispersing to different areas of the house.

_The next day…_

The night had gone by without a single hitch. There were no strange occurrences during any of the shifts, and everybody slept peacefully…or as peacefully as one can sleep when their friend/love interest/sibling is dead. They had all woken up, or woken each other up, and were headed towards the World Conference meeting, which was conveniently placed in Japan. Their host wouldn't be there with them, but…it would have to make do.

"Hey…Iggy." Arthur stopped in his tie-tying to look at the American, who looked less than the cheerful self he was only a day ago.

"Yes?"

"Should we…bring this up at the meeting?" Arthur had thought about that, and in some respect, it was good not to. It would create panic among the world's nations. At the same time, the more help they could receive in this little ordeal, the better.

"Alfred…I think we should mention everything before…_this. _If we can see that the other nations were knocked out as well, and their circumstances are the same, we might need to mention this, so that they aren't around wondering in fear. This will strike fear, yes, but they will know, and stay together." Alfred simply nodded as he left the British man to himself.

The trip to the conference wasn't very joyful, to say the least. Nobody spoke a word, but there was no tension either. And yet, it was also less than comfortable. They were all glad to get there, where they were surrounded by other fellow nations. However, they all looked less than healthy. Some were paler than usual, others looked rather haggard, as if they had been fighting, and even more others were rather nervous, more so than usual.

The meeting began quietly. There was a strange silence around as some murmured to the others as to the whereabouts of their host.

"Okay everyone. There is something I'd like to inquire from each of you." All eyes were on Arthur just then. "It seems that I, as well as many other nations, were knocked out yesterday around noon time. We awoke in a home that seemed untouched, as if we were never assaulted, and when we broke something in our home, it fixed itself as if we never broke it. With a show of hands, how many others met this same fate?"

As Arthur finished his statement, all of the hands in the room raised themselves, some hesitant. Alfred took this moment to slam his hands onto the table in a loud "thud" and everybody in the room looked towards him.

"Look, guys. I know you guys wanna know where Kiku is. Well, you know what? He's…dead. And I wanna know which one of you is the sick bastard who did it. Fess up now, or wait until I nuke every last one of you," Alfred threatened as the room was in an uproar. Arthur glared at Alfred for including that last bit in.

"What do you mean he's dead?" Switzerland shouted as he stood up. Lichtenstein stood up with her brother as she tried to make him sit down. Arthur simply looked at Vash. He could see a similar rage in his eyes.

"Yes, Alfred is right. Yesterday, we went to visit him, and when we got there, he was nowhere in sight. His dog eventually led us to find him, dead, in his office. It looks as though he was bludgeoned in the head by a very blunt object. We have no leads and no evidence to assume it is anybody in this room, but we cannot be too careful."

"But why would they only kill Japan?" Lithuania piped up. He had caught onto the fact that Japan was the only one dead so far.

"We're not sure exactly. Whoever did this, they were after Kiku, obviously. The rest of us were, however, knocked out, as it is."

"Be on your guard, everyone. This…_killer_ might just go after any of us," Ludwig added in. The uproar in the conference room continued as some nations hugged each other for dear life.

"Waah! Ludwig! Kiku's dead?" Feliciano cried out as he sobbed his eyes out on Ludwig's shoulder, just as expected. Ludwig, though not really sure what to do, just patted the young boy's back awkwardly, trying to reassure him.

Everything was out of control as people began to accuse each other, not sure of who to trust anymore. Arthur stood helplessly before these panicked nations, looking on hopelessly. Alfred, too, was just as helpless against this. Suddenly, Arthur heard something in his head. It was horribly faint, so he couldn't hear it very well, but he recognized that voice anywhere.

"Kiku…?" Arthur whispered to himself as the faint voice disappeared. Was he imagining it? No…he didn't want to have imagined it. Anything would do right now, anything to get just one clue. That was all he needed. Just _one_ clue to get them going. But there hadn't been anything. And then, it struck him.

_Pochi._

**So, how was it? I know, it's a bit longer than normal, but I don't wanna drag this one on into too many chapters. The world now has to solve a baffling murder case, which you can take part in too. Just a hint, try thinking outside of the box. There's a twist ending to this. And contrary to what Arthur and the rest of them believe, they already got their first clue.**


End file.
